1780-1857.
The first in rank of the _chansonniers_. The chanson in his hands took
on a breadth, a meaning, and a seriousness that it had never before
possessed, and that make him secure of a place in the literature of
his country. He used the song largely as a vehicle for his political
opinions, even as a political weapon. The object of his attack was the
monarchy of the restoration and the pre-revolutionary ideas which it
tried to revive, and his weapon was formidable because it was so
well fitted to be caught up and wielded by the masses of the people.
Béranger was popular in the more original sense of the word. He
appealed to the masses by his ideas, which were those of the average
man, and by the form which he gave them and the efficient aid of the
current airs to which he wedded them, so that his words not only
reached the ears of an audience far wider than that of the readers of
books, but found a lodgment in their memories. Works: The successive
collections of _Chansons_ appeared in 1815, 1821, 1825, 1828, 1833;
_Oevres posthumes_, and _Oeuvres complètes_, 2 vols., 1857.
For reference: Saint-Beuve, _Portraits contemporains_, vol. i;
_Causeries du lundi_, vols, ii, xv; _Nouveaux lundis_, vol. i; E.
Caro, _Poètes et romanciers_, 1888; C. Coquelin in _The Century_, vol.
xxiv, with portraits.
43. LE ROI D'YVETOT (May, 1813) is perhaps the most famous of his
songs. Yvetot is a small town in Normandy, near Havre. The lords of
Yvetot were given the title of king in the fifteenth century. The
reference of the song to Napoleon is clear.
44. 11. BAN; _lever le ban_ means to call out one's vassals or
subjects. 13. TIRER AU BLANC, to shoot at a target.
45. LE VILAIN. 30.LE LÉOPARD; the French heralds describe the device
of the English coat of arms as a _lion léopardé_; so the French often
use the leopard as a symbol for the English.
46. 3. LA LIGUE, the Catholic League, a union of Catholics between
1576 and 1596, principally to secure the supremacy of their religion;
it became the partisan of the Duc de Guise against Henry I. and Henry
IV., fomented civil strife, allied itself with Spain, and became
guilty of cruel excesses. MON HABIT 20. Socrate: the poverty of
Socrates is notorious. 27. FÊTE: a person's _fête_ is the day of the
saint whose name he bears.
47. 17. DES RUBANS; little bits of ribbon are worn in the buttonhole
by members of the Legion of Honor, established by Napoleon in 1802.
Membership in it is a purely honorary distinction, conferred by the
government for conspicuous services of any kind, civil as well as
military, and usually much coveted. Béranger refused all such favors
from the government. 26. METTRE POUR JAMAIS HABIT BAS, i.e. _mourir_.
48. LES ÉTOILES QUI FILENT, "shooting stars" (Jan., 1820). This poem
is based upon the popular superstition that connects human destinies
with the stars, and interprets a shooting star as the passing of a
human life.
49. 2. C'ÉTAIT À QUI LE NOURRIRAIT, each strove to outdo the other in
feeding him.
50. LES SOUVENIRS DU PEUPLE. This is one of the poems that contributed
to increase the prestige of the name of Napoleon. 9. BIEN ... QUE; the
parts of the conjunction are sometimes thus separated.
51. 10. CHAMPAGNE, previous to the Revolution a political division of
France, having Lorraine on the east and Burgundy on the south. Like
most other provinces it belonged formerly to independent princes. It
came to the kings of France by the marriage of Philip IV. in the
last half of the thirteenth century. Since the Revolution all these
historical divisions have been supplanted by the _départements_, new
administrative districts intended to obliterate the old boundaries.
But the old names are still familiarly used. Champagne was invaded in
1814 by an army of the powers allied against Napoléon. 18. S'ASSOIT,
instead of the usual _s'assied_ of cultivated speech, is in keeping
with the unlettered condition and familar tone of the speaker.
52. LES FOUS. Perhaps the word "cranks" comes nearest to giving the
force of the title. 22. SAUF À, _reserving the privilege of_.
53. 5. SAINT-SIMON; Claude-Henri, comte de Saint-Simon (1760-1825),
was the founder of French socialism. He demanded the application of
the principle of association to the production and distribution of
wealth. 13. Francois- Marie-Charles FOURIER (1772-1837), the founder
of Fourierism, advocated a social reform in the direction of
communism, and proposed to reorganize society in large groups, or
phalanxes, living together in a perfect community in one building,
called a phalanstery. Such communities as Brook Farm were attempts at
a practical application of Fourier's ideas. See O. B. Frothingham's
Life of George Ripley. 21. Barthélemy-Prosper ENFANTIN (1796-1864) was
a follower of Saint-Simon and developed his doctrines. His means for
securing the emancipation and equality of woman was the abolition of
marriage.